***910pm Eastern update: US court denies Saddam’s appeal***

In the U.S.:

Lawyers for Saddam Hussein on Friday made a last-minute appeal to an American court to avert execution in Iraq, asking a judge to block his transfer from U.S. custody to the hands of Iraqi officials.

Hussein’s lawyers filed documents Friday afternoon asking for an emergency restraining order aimed at stopping the U.S. government from relinquishing custody of the condemned former Iraqi leader to Iraqi officials, a spokeswoman for a federal court in Washington D.C. said.

The documents were being processed and were not immediately made public. The Justice Department had not yet responded to the request.

More:

The appeal is being heard by Clinton appointee Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.

Allah notes an AP report saying Saddam will be dead by 10pm Eastern tonight.

850pm Eastern. The final countdown…check out the Pajamas Media execution watch….Jim Hoft tracks the final hours of Saddam.

Witnesses gathering in the Green Zone.

Daughter wants Saddam buried in Yemen.